Food supplement

ABSTRACT

A food supplement which has beneficial effects for bowel health, and a method of preparing the food supplement are disclosed. The food supplement is derived from fiber extracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables. The fiber extracts have a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom. The two or more types of fruit or vegetable may be selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, cranberry, papaya, banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach and melon. The beneficial effects for bowel health are manifest in an increase in levels of short chain fatty acids (SCFA&#39;s) in the colon.

This invention relates to a food supplement, derived from fruit orvegetable fibres, which has beneficial effects for bowel health.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA's) are known to have significantphysiological effects on the large bowel. In particular, SCFA's areconsidered to play a role in the protection against bowel cancer and thedevelopment of pathogenic organisms and the development of coloniculceration and other diseases of the bowel.

SCFA's (acetate, propionate and butyrate) are produced in the largebowel by microbial fermentation. The benefits attributed to thesecompounds are variously thought to be the result of either reduced pH orbeneficial changes to the molar ratios of acetate, propionate andbutyrate or some combination of these. The concentration of SCFA's, pHand in particular butyrate concentration are putative indicators ofbowel health.

More particularly, butyrate is considered to offer protection againstbowel cancer. As most intestinal cancers occur in the distal colon, anincreased level of butyrate in this region is a key objective incontrolling the incidence and development of this type of cancer.

In the processing of fruit and vegetable for consumption, a considerableamount of the fruit or vegetable remains unused because it is eitherunpalatable or inconvenient to use. This represents a somewhatinefficient use of resources and leads to a waste disposal problem and aloss of potentially valuable resources.

It is also desirable to have a fibre additive for foods that is asubstitute, or a partial substitute for ingredients of commonly usedfoods substances such as flour in bread. Also desired is that thesesubstitutes do not add to the calorific content of the foods, and inmany instances that these substitutes do either not contribute flavoursat all or at least do not contribute off flavours. A number of examplesof fibre food additives are made from waste from fruit or vegetableprocessing, and one such example is the use of treated citrus albedo forinclusion of a flour substitute in various cereal products such as breadin U.S. Pat. No. 4526794 by Altomare et al.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is a finding of this invention that the use of a mixture of fibreextracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables can have abeneficial effect on the large bowel.

Fibre extracts from apple slices and from the albedo of oranges wereextracted by a counter current method and added as a supplement to astandard feed for pigs and to a diet for humans. An unexpectedbeneficial change in indicators of gut health was found when mixtures ofthe two fibre extracts were used when compared to the use of each fibreextract separately.

The effect is manifest in an increased production of short chain fattyacids in the large bowel, of which butyrate is the fatty acid that isincreased to the greatest degree particularly in the distal colon. Theexperiments conducted to date are suggestive that the physiology of thelarge intestine is also somewhat modified in so far as the wall of thelarge intestine is thickened albeit by a statistically not significantamount, indicating that there may be stimulation of growth.

The term fibre in the context of this invention is intended to conveythe meaning of material that is substantially indigestible in the smallintestine such that it passes into the large bowel of a human or otheromnivorous animal species.

It is thus proposed that in a broad form that the present inventioncould be said to reside in a food supplement, said food supplementderived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit orvegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solidsremoved therefrom.

At present the reason why such combinations of fibre extracts exerttheir effect is unknown, it is however thought that removal of amajority of the soluble solids is essential for this to have effect. Onehypothesis is that insoluble fibre components presented in this way havea more beneficial action in promoting colonisation of beneficialbacteria in the large intestine, thereby acting as a prebiotic.

The removal of soluble solids also has the side benefit of maximisingthe potential value obtained from the precursor product in so far as itmay be possible to sell some or all of the soluble solids. Additionallythe insoluble solids that remain are more convenient for food usebecause they may be dried and hence put into a wider range of foods thanwould be possible with soluble materials. Insoluble solids from whichsoluble solids have been removed also have a tendency to be more stablemicrobiologically and not to produce off flavours, there is also thepossibility that any anti microbial substances (that might otherwiseadversely affect beneficial large bowel microflora) present in parts ofthe fruit are also removed.

The two or more types of fruit or vegetable may be selected from thegroup consisting of grape, citrus, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya,banana, pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach and melon.

Preferably the two or more types of fruit or vegetables are selectedfrom the group consisting of, grape, orange, apple, tomato, melon,cranberry and grapefruit.

In an alternative form a first of the two or more fruit and vegetablesis a citrus fruit and a second fruit is selected from the groupconsisting of grape, apple, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana,pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, melon and cranberry and more preferablythe second fruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, apple,tomato, melon and cranberry. In one convenient form the citrus fruit isan orange.

In another alternative form a first of the two or more fruit andvegetables is an apple, and a second fruit is selected from the groupconsisting of grape, citrus, tomato, carrot, mango, papaya, banana,pineapple, kiwi fruit, spinach, a melon, and more preferably the secondfruit is selected from the group consisting of grape, citrus, tomato,and melon.

In one specific form the fibre extracts from two fruits are used, thetwo fruits being orange and apple.

Citrus fruits that might be used including orange, grapefruit, tangelo,tangerine, lemon, o kinnow fruit and varietals. When dealing with citrusby product parts, citrus “cups” can be used. Cups are halves of theouter portion of citrus fruits comprising the skin (flavedo) and thepith (albedo) and represent the portion of citrus fruit remaining afterconventional juice extraction. Preferably the starting material forfibre extraction is a shaved skin, whereby the flavedo has been removed.The benefit of using albedo is that processing is simplified, so thatthe strongly flavoured portion of the skin is not included.

For pineapples, the “zenith” solids, which comprise the outer skin andinner core of pineapple can be used. Also whole pineapples can be used.

When papaya is the precursor just the flesh and skin are to beprocessed. When the seed is included the resultant product has a higherfibre content. Likewise mangos, without seed can be processed.

When a melon is used it might be selected from the group consisting ofwatermelon, rock melon, honeydew melon or champagne melon.

Without being bound by the same, a possible explanation for thebeneficial effects of the combinations of fibre extracts is that the twofibre components each offer different levels of minerals, neutral nonstarch polysachharides and uronic acids and that a synergy is affordedby a combination of fruits or vegetables having the different levels.Soluble and insoluble neutral non starch polysaccharides, and solubleand insoluble uronic acids provide four possible substrates formicrobial growth in the colon. These four possible substrates may resultin a series of microbial populations being established along the largebowel, each acclimatised to a preferred substrate and each producingdifferent SCFA's. In this way, the varying molar ratios of theindividual SCFA's may be explained.

The high level of calcium and other elements are considered to providebeneficial effects on the proliferation of colon cells, the excretion ofbile acids and avoiding mineral losses from occurring, for example withdiarrhoea. Thus in the case of a mixture of orange and apple fibres, ithas been determined that orange is higher in calcium, soluble neutralnon starch polysaccharides and total uronic acids than is the apple.Thus it may be expected that the combination of a first fruit orvegetable having levels of one or more mineral or fibre components thatare similar to orange and a second fruit or vegetable having levelscomparable to apple may provide the synergistic effect. Some typicalcompositions of fruits are given in Table 1.

Thus in one embodiment of the invention the invention may be said toreside in a food supplement, said food supplement derived from fibreextracts from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, the fibreextracts having had a majority of soluble solids removed therefrom andwherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has:

a calcium content of between 4000 and 15000 ppm;

a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 2 and 3percent dry weight; and

a total uronic acids content of between 20 and 40 percent dry weight andthe second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has:

a calcium content of between 200 and 1500 ppm;

a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 1 and 2percent dry weight; and

a total uronic acids content of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.

Alternatively the invention may be said to reside in a food supplementderived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruit orvegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of soluble solidsremoved therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruits orvegetables has a calcium content of between 4000 and 15000 ppm and asecond of the two or more fruit or vegetables has a calcium content ofbetween 200 and 1500 ppm.

Alternatively still the invention may be said to reside in a foodsupplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruitor vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of solublesolids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruitsor vegetables has a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharide content ofbetween 2 and 3 percent dry weight and a second of the two or more fruitor vegetables has a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides contentof between 1 and 2 percent dry weight.

As a further alternative the invention may be said to reside in a foodsupplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruitor vegetables, the fibre extracts having had a majority of solublesolids removed therefrom and wherein a first of the two or more fruitsor vegetables has a total uronic acids content of between 20 and 40percent dry weight and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetableshas a total uronic acids content of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.

Preferably the ratio of the first fibre extract to the second fibreextract in the food supplement is between 1:4 and 4:1 and is mostpreferably between 2:3 to 3:2. In one preferred from of the inventionthe two fibre extracts are present in equal amounts by weight.

The invention may also be said to reside in a method of preparing a foodsupplement derived from fibre extracts from two or more types of fruitor vegetables, the method including the steps of removing a majority ofthe soluble solids from each of the two or more types of fruit orvegetables separately to give fibre extracts from the two or more fruitsor vegetables, and combining the fibre extracts to provide the foodsupplement.

The method may include the steps of slicing each of the two or morefruits or vegetables into substantially uniform pieces, andsubstantially removing any remaining seed tissue from the fibre extractsafter extraction an then combining the fibre extracts to provide thefood supplement.

The method may also include the steps of inactivating enzymes within thefruit or vegetable pieces.

The precursor material is preferably undigested, in the sense that ithas not been macerated, or treated enzymically, or by other chemicalagents such as acid or alkaline to breakdown the structure of themacromolecules forming the fibres. The structure of the plant materialis thus still complex. Thus when an apple is prepared for conventionalpressing it is first milled, a process in which almost all of the cellwalls are disrupted and in fact compounds normally isolated in cellwalls or cytoplasm or vacuoles, nuclei etc are homogenised and begin toreact. Many of these reactions are enzymically driven such asdepolymerisation of pectin or oxidation. On the other hand when an appleis prepared by a preferred embodiment of this invention the apple issliced, so that the longest diffusion path is no more than say 1.5 mm.Slicing disrupts only a small proportion of cell walls, perhaps 0.5%,and the enzymes and their substrates are kept separate.

The method of preparing fibre also preferably includes the step ofinactivating enzymes within the fruit preparation which mightconveniently be by heat inactivation. Thus with the example of appleslices after slicing the slices are flash heated to a temperature atwhich plasmolysis occurs but no heat damage occurs to flavour compounds(60° C.). This is termed a critical temperature. The resultant increasein permeability of the (still intact) cell wall increases significantlythe rate of transfer of soluble solids from solid to liquid phase.

The majority of soluble solids are then removed from the precursor, byextracting liquids. This is achieved by preparing the precursor materialto an appropriate size, for example by slicing to a particle with athickness of no more than about 2 to 3 mm is found optimal for appleslices, and precontacting the precursor food material with an extractionliquid, and then separating the precursor food material from theextraction liquid, the separation occurring to an extent to give thedesired reduction in soluble solids.

This extraction liquid is most preferably water, however, a non-aqueousor non-polar solvent might be used to extract water-insoluble ornon-polar compounds. Examples of such solvents are, chloroform, hexane,chlorinated hydrocarbons or acetone. A specific example is theextraction of isoflavones and other flavanoids from orange peel usingethanol as the solvent.

It is preferred that water soluble solids are substantially all removed,in which case the fibre product is substantially free of sugars andother very readily soluble solids whereby greater than 90% of solublesolids are removed. One effect of this is that the fibre product isstabilised against microbial attack. That is not to say that microbialdegradation of the fibre is totally inhibited, but rather that this isreduced. Generally fungal growth is not inhibited but growth of the morecommon food spoiling bacteria are.

Additionally by removal of substantially all of the soluble solids thefibre product has a reduced potential for the development of an offtaste, because compounds responsible for flavours have been extracted bythe extraction process. Removal of substantially all of the solublesolids is intended to mean removal of substantially all soluble solidsthat are in a free or unbound state.

A processor suitable for extraction by counter current methods isdescribed in Australian Patent No. 543184. Alternatively otherextraction apparatus that could be used include a diffuser made byDeDanske Sukkerfabriker of Denmark and a diffuser made by Amos ofGermany. It is anticipated that by use of these processes greater than90% of the water soluble solids are removed, and more preferably frombetween 93 to 99%.

The benefits of the invention are expected largely to result by reasonof fermentation in the large bowel of non-digestible components of thefruits outlined above, and it is anticipated that less purified forms ofthe fibres will also have a similar effect to that found for the morepurified forms of fibre. It is however not desirable to use conventionaltechniques of expressing juice from fruit because the supplement will behigh in flavours, sugars, and acids. The material is unstablemicrobiologically and enzymatically and will rapidly develop offflavours and odours and will quickly discolour.

In another form the invention may be said to reside in agent forincreasing levels of one or more fatty acids to the colon of an animalor human wherein the agent is derived from fibre extracts from two ormore types of fruit or vegetables that have had a majority of solublesolids removed therefrom. Preferably the increased level of fatty acidsis greater than the level afforded by any one of the fruits orvegetables alone. Preferably also the fatty acid is a short chain fattyacid which may include acetate, propionate and butyrate. The one or moretypes of fruit and vegetables may be selected from the group describedherein.

It will be appreciated that the invention could also reside in a foodproduct having the food supplement. Suitable food products that maycontain the food supplement include, but are not limited to, breakfastcereals, granola bars, soups and beverages including fruit juices.Preferably the food product contains between 1 and 50% by weight of thefood supplement and most preferably between 1 and 30%. In the case ofliquid food products the upper limit to the amount of fibre supplementthat may be added is determined by the viscoity of the ensuing product.Thus, preferably soups may contain between 2 and 15% of the foodsupplement and beverages may contain between 2 and 5% of the foodsupplement.

For a better understanding the invention will now be described withreference to a number of examples. It is understood that these examplesare only illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION Preparation of AppleFibre Extract

Preparation

The apples were of the Granny Smith variety from Batlow in New SouthWales, Australia, and were in good condition. Apples were prepared byslicing to a 2 mm thickness with a crinkle cut to provide betterstructural integrity.

The Counter Current Extractor (CCE)

A counter current juice extractor available from FITA of SydneyAustralia was used. The method of extracting juice from fruit andvegetables using this machine is described in Australia Patent No543184. The CCE was set up with an angle of 4.5° a short cycle time ofapproximately 17 seconds, a residence time of about 1 hour. Oxidationwas minimal at the temperature settings recorded.

The CCE was set up with the following operation conditions:

feed rate 12 kg/hr extraction water 15 kg/hr angle 4.5° cycle time 17seconds TF time forward 9.5 sec TR time reverse 7.2 sec RPM 3Temperature at recycle 63° C. Residence time 60 minutes Preparation 2 mmslice (Crinkle cut) Pool level low

Extracted slices were recovered from the CCE in thoroughly cleanedplastic containers for further processing. Juice was recovered at atemperature of 18° C. covered stainless steel buckets for furtherprocessing.

Fibre Recovery

The fibre emerging from the CCE was collected and held for a period ofabout 4 hours then milled using a Fitzmill with ½ inch screen. This wasto minimise damage to seed and skin tissue.

The fibre was then put through a paddle finisher to remove skin and seedtissue using a 40 thousandth of an inch screen where skin and seedtissue were removed. No attempt was made to dewater the fibre from thistrial. When preparing fibre samples for feeding trials the seed tissuewas removed but the skin tissue was not removed.

The resultant fibre was relatively free of seed tissue. The yield offibre emerging from the CCE represented 90% of the mass of the applesentering the process. The balance (10%) represented the soluble solidsextracted by diffusion.

Samples of the fibre were dried in an oven the results indicating thatthere was a recovery of 4.0 to 4.5% of the mass of the apples as driedfibre.

The quality of the fibre, organoleptically, was good being of palecolour and with no propensity to oxidize. It had only a very slighttaste of apple which disappeared on drying, it was highly viscous(approximately 3 cm Bostwick) with strong water binding capacity.

Cleaned fibre was packed in heavy duty plastic bags in approximately 10kg quantities with a maximum thickness of 6 cm. These packages were thenstored at −20° C.

Yield of soluble solids in juice 92.9%. It should be noted that incommercial operation the extracted slices will be pressed to remove halftheir weight as water and this water (or dilute juice) is returned tothe CCE as extraction liquor. Therefore yield equivalent is 96.5%. Therewas no evident browning of the fibre or juice emerging from the machine.

Preparation of Orange Fibre Extract

Preparation

The peel used for this trial was from early season Valencia orangesgrown in Berri in the Upper Murray district of South Australia.

Orange albedo was prepared in the following way at the Berri Fruit Juiceplant at Berri, South Australia. Peel was returned from brown reamers tobrown shavers where a gross separation of Albedo and Flavedo waseffected. The separation was imperfect with the Albedo containingapproximately 15% flavedo tissue. The two sections of peel from theshavers was packed into cardboard boxes each containing 10 kg. Boxes ofFlavedo and Albedo were then frozen to −20° C. and transported toSydney. Before feed to the CCE the Albedo tissue was thawed, furtherhand sorted to remove as much flavedo as possible and hand cut to reduceparticle size (nominally 20 mm×3 mm thick) using a knife.

CCE Operation

The CCE was set up with the following operation conditions

feed rate 12 kg/hr extraction water 15 kg/hr angle 7.0° cycle time 17sec TF time forward 9.5 sec TR time reverse 7.2 sec RPM 3 Temperature atrecycle 75° C. Residence time 60 minutes Preparation Hand slicing Poollevel Low

Albedo tissue was fed to the CCE in 1 kg quantities at 5 minuteintervals

The CCE was set up at a steep angle (7°) providing sufficient head toovercome the low porosity of the bed and the high viscosity of theextracted liquid. Relatively high temperatures were employed to minimiseoxidative damage.

Fibre Handling

The extracted fibre emerging from the CCE was pressed with partialreturn of press liquor to increase the level of colour, then held for aperiod of about 2 hours at ambient temperature. Cleaned fibre was packedin heavy duty plastic bags in approximately 10 kg quantities withmaximum thickness of 6 cm. These packages were then stored at −18° C.

The fibre produced was of very pale yellow colour and mild bitternessbut low in flavour and aroma. A small section of this was dried toconstant weight in an over at 110° C. During this operation samemaillard browning occurred although this was not severe and is not seenas a major barrier to commercialisation.

Juice

Yield of soluble solids in juice 75%. This yield was deliberately set asit is known that the partition coefficient for say limonin and naringin(bitter principals) between cellulose and orange juices is about 9. Withhigher yields of solubles unacceptable levels of bitter principals areextracted in the juice. However at a yield of 75% solubles, more than50% of the bitter principle is carried out with the fibre.

The resultant juice was very bright but whiter in colour when comparedto the spectrum of normal commercial orange products. The level of cloudwas high. The juice had a viscosity of 18 cp at 12° brix and normalorange juice “mouthfeel”. The juice was of good aroma and flavour withhigh sugar acid ratio (30:1)

Preparation of Carrot and Grape Fibre Extracts

The fibre extracts were prepared according to the method outlined abovefor the preparation of apple fibre extract.

Preparation of Grapefruit Fibre Extract

The grapefruit fibre extract was prepared using the method set out abovefor preparation of orange fibre extract.

Preparation of Cranberry Fibre Extract

Cranberry fibre extract is available commercially and is prepared byOcean Spray International (Tomah, Wis., USA). This extract is preparedas per the procedure outlined above except that the fibre product isreinfused with cranberry juice and marketed as sweetened driedcranberries.

Compositional Analysis of Fibre Extracts or Precursor Fruit

Fibre or precursor samples were frozen until analysis. When thawed, thesolids were reconstituted with juice and a homogeneous sub-sample wastaken and stored at 4° C. until samples were taken for analyses twohours later. A representative sample was freeze dried at between 5 and 6millibars and at a temperature of −70° C. to obtain dry matter forsubsequent analyses. Following lyophilisation, the samples were milledto a mesh size of 0.5 mm. Analyses (apart from viscosity) were performedon dried and milled samples. Data for selected fruits and vegetables isshown in Table 1.

Analyses were performed as per the following methods, all of which areknown in the art.

Dry Matter Lyopholised residue Fat (Ether Extractables) Ether extract:AOAC 920.39 Ash Residue from 480° C. furnace Viscosity at a shear rateof 200 sec⁻¹ Cone and Plate Method Simple Sugars and OligosaccharidesHPLC Method Neutral Non Starch Polysaccharides GC Uppsala Method Solubleand Insoluble Uronic Acids AOAC Official Method 994.13 Dubois/ScottMethod Lignin

Pig Feeding Trials of Fibre Extracts

Materials and Methods

Animals

A total of 28 young-adult male pigs (starting live weight=32 kg) werechosen for experiment and maintained in individual pens with a concretefloor in a temperature-controlled room at the Pig Nutrition ResearchFacility (Roseworthy Campus). Pigs were obtained from the commercialpiggery at the same institution.

Diets

Composition of the diets is shown in Table 2. The basal (Control) dietwas formulated to be high in saturated fat (15% lipid by weight—13% palmoil and 2% safflower oil), and marginal in calcium content (0.4%, byweight). Wheat bran was the source of dietary fibre (17% by weight,equivalent to 7.5% NSP). For treatment diets wheat bran was replaced byfibre extracts of Apple, Orange or Apple+Orange (in equal amounts)(seeTable 2). Formulation of treatment diets was based on results ofanalyses for total dietary fibre of the two fibre extracts. Pigs werefed twice daily, at 0900 and 1600, at a rate proportional to theirmetabolic live weight (70 g×LW^(0.75)). The daily allowance was adjustedweekly when the animals were weighed. Pigs had unrestricted access towater for the duration of study.

Surgical Preparation and Experimental Design

For logistical reasons the study was split into two staggeredsub-experiments (7-day overlap).

During the pre-experimental period, pigs were maintained on theirregular commercial, pelleted diet for several days, until surgicalimplantation of a cephalic vein catheter. Pigs were then divided, on thebasis of live weight, into 4 groups of six animals each. The remainingfour animals were used as reserves. Immediately after surgery pigs weretransferred to the Control diet (Day 7). After a further 7 days, threeof the groups were randomly assigned to experimental diets, while thefourth group (and the unassigned animals) continued to be fed Controldiet. Diets were fed for the remaining 21 days of experiment (days 7 to28) and, at the end of the feeding period, pigs were anaesthetised inorder to allow the designated samples to be collected, and thenslaughtered.

Experimental Procedure and Measurements

Catheters were maintained by daily flushing of the dead-space withheparinised saline. Fasting blood samples were taken on 5 occasions(days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28). The blood sample on Day 28 was taken fromthe abdominal aorta; all other blood samples were via cephalic veincatheter.

At the completion of the feeding period (day 28, −21 days after theintroduction of treatment diets) and approximately 16 hours after thepigs had been fed the evening before, they were weighed andanaesthetised (intravenous infusion of Pentothal). The abdominal cavitywas opened and blood collected from the abdominal aorta, and the GItract was then ligated and excised, along with the liver. The liver wasblot-dried and weighed, and a sample collected and snap-frozen. Thesmall and large bowels were isolated and measured. The colon was dividedinto three segments of equal length, and the content of each of thosesegments, and that of the caecum, were extruded, weighed and subsampled. The colon and caecum, devoid of contents, were blotted dry andweighed.

Small samples of liver and plasma were analysed for cholesterol contentusing gas chromatography. Digesta was diluted with distilled water fordetermination of pH and dry matter by standard techniques, andshort-chain fatty acids (SCFA), caecal bile acids and neutral sterols byGC procedures.

Data Analysis

Data are shown as the mean and pooled standard error of the mean (SEM),with the number of observations per group as indicated in the tables.Statistical analysis was by one-way analysis—variance (ANOVA) and whensignificant values were detected (F value P<0.05), differences betweenindividual means were then analysed by the PDIFF procedure of SAS.Differences between treatment means are considered significant atP<0.05. For tabulated results, values within a column with differentsuperscripts differ significantly.

Hepatic and digesta metabolise pools were calculated as: $\begin{matrix}{{{{Concentration}\quad ( {µ\quad {mol}\text{/}g\quad {or}\quad {mmol}\text{/}L} ) \times {weight}\quad {of}\quad {liver}\quad (g)},\quad {or}}\quad} \\{{volume}\quad {of}\quad {digesta}\quad {water}\quad {({mL}).}}\end{matrix}\quad$

Results

Animal Health

During the pre-experimental period it was necessary to substitute a pigthat had become lame for one from the reserve group. The catheters oftwo pigs in the Apple group ceased to function on about day 14 of thetrial and therefore two additional pigs from the reserve group wereassigned to this treatment. Consequently, at the time of slaughter,these two animals had been fed the treatment diet for just 14 days.However, as the results for these two animals were not substantiallydifferent from others in the group, they were therefore included insubsequent statistical analyses. One pig from the Apple+Orange group waseuthanased just prior to completion of the study for reasons of illness(apparently unrelated to diet). During intubation (for catheterisation),several pigs were found to have a throat infection, however thisappeared to be a minor ailment and did not affect food consumption orrate of growth.

Food Acceptability and Live Weight Gain

Pigs found the diets acceptable, and there were no indications of overtadverse reactions. Pig growth rate (and feed conversion efficiency)during the period of study was satisfactory (average daily gain was ˜500g/d), and within the range encountered in commercial piggeries. Diet hadno significant effect on live weight change during the feeding period(Table 3). The growth rate data is confirmation that there were noserious adverse reactions (eg diarrhoea, gastrointestinal disturbancesor nutritional deficiencies) to these diets.

Small and Large Bowel Morphology

Neither intestinal length nor mass were influenced by dietary treatments(Table 4). Caecal and colonic weight were greatest in pigs fedApple+Orange, however the differences were not statisticallysignificant. Also, there were no differences between treatments forweight of the individual colonic segments (data not shown).

The Apple+Orange diet may have had a stimulatory effect on intestinalgrowth, as intestinal mass of the small bowel, caecum and colon wereeach greater numerically than that of any other treatment (butstatistically not significant). Given that the colon of this group wasabout 10% heavier, and slightly shorter in length, than that of theothers, it would suggest that the mixed fibre diet may have resulted ina thickening of the colonic wall. It is worth noting that the mixedfibre diet was particularly effective in raising SCFA levels at varioussites in the large bowel (see later). These metabolites are potenttrophic agents for intestinal mucosa.

Large Bowel Digesta Mass and Water Content

Generally, digesta mass was similar for the four groups (Table 5).Digesta mass of pigs fed wheat bran was greater at each of the largebowel sampling sites, however, these differences reached statisticalsignificance for the mid colon only. Digesta moisture content declinedprogressively from the caecum through to the distal colon (Table 6).There were no significant treatment differences for this variable in thecaecum and proximal colon, however, in the mid colon, water content ofdigesta in pigs fed Wheat bran was greater than that of the Appletreatment, but not significantly, compared to other treatments. Digestain the distal colon of pigs given wheat bran contained about 10% morewater than that for any of the other dietary treatments.

Similar amounts of wet digesta mass in the caecum of each group suggeststhat the amount of material entering the large bowel, which is primarilynon-absorbed carbohydrate, is similar. For the Wheat bran group, thereappears to be a progressive loss of material along the colon, however,for fibre extract treatments, fermentation occurs mainly in the proximaland mid colon. This finding reflects and confirms the highly fermentablenature of the fibre extract products. As large bowel bacteria catabolisefibre, its structure, and hence, water-holding capacity diminishes,along with the contribution that these materials could make to digestamass and, hence, faecal weight. Although the fibre extracts would beexpected to promote growth of enteric bacteria, this activity wouldoccur primarily in the proximal region of the large bowel, and thecontribution of expanded bacterial biomass to stool output may not belarge. Data for the large bowel is compatible with the finding that thefaeces of pigs fed diets containing fibre extracts, compared to Wheatbran, were much firmer, and formed into dense pellets. The apparent“constipating” effects of the fibre extract diets, however, do notappear to have been particularly serious (food intake, for example, wasnot compromised). Earlier studies have indicated that the optimal watercontent in digesta and faeces is 70-80%. Also, because wheat bran is themost effective dietary fibre source for promoting stool weight (andalleviating constipation in human), differences with other fibres inrelation to faecal output and consistency are expected.

Large Bowel pH

At each of the intestinal sampling sites, acidic conditions were foundin large bowel lumen of those pigs receiving fibre extracts, compared tothe Wheat bran. Differences in pH for the individual fibre extracttreatments (Table 7) were not significant.

The fermentability of fibre extracts is clearly reflected in the acidicconditions found in the large bowel, especially in the caecum, and to alesser extent, in the colon. Acidification of luminal contents hasdesirable health consequences, in that the formation, availability andabsorption of various carcinogens and toxic materials in the hindgut isreduced. Indeed, a high pH in the human large bowel is thought to be arisk factor for colorectal cancer.

Large Bowel Short Chain Fatty Acid Concentrations

Generally, concentrations of total SCFA tended to be greatest in thecaecum and proximal colon compared to the other sites, and throughoutthe large bowel, levels of these metabolites were higher in pigs fedfibre extracts (particularly for the diet containing mixed fibres)relative to Wheat bran, although only a few differences reachedstatistical significance (Table 8). Profiles for each of the individualSCFA were similar (Table 9-11). Compared to Wheat bran, the Apple+Orangetreatment produced substantially higher butyrate concentrations in theproximal and distal colon. Total and individual SCFA values for themixed fibre treatment were (numerically) greater than those valuesobtained for either Apple or Orange fibre.

The finding that fibre extracts were effective in raising SCFA level issignificant because of the purportive role of these metabolites in theprevention and amelioration of important large bowel diseases. The mixedfibre diet was particularly effective in raising butyrate levelsthroughout the large bowel, especially in the distal colon, which is thesite of most bowel disease in humans. The extent to which the level ofSCFA and in particular butyrate has increased is quite surprising and isindicative of a synergy that has taken place between the fibre extracts.The exact nature of the synergy is unknown but it is expected that thesynergy will also take place between fibre extracts of other fruit andvegetable sources. The effect of continued consumption of the mixedfibre product however is suggested to enhance the bacteria in the largeintestine that are capable of producing SCFA and thereby reducing thepopulation of bacteria that lead to adverse health effects.

The fibre extracts used are convenient to handle because they arefermentable in the large bowel, and are not heat labile.

It is thought that the high pectin content of the two fibre extractsused provides a fermentable fibre but the nature of the synergy is notclear at present.

Human Feeding Trials of Fibre Extracts

Materials and Methods

Subjects

The study group consisted of 23 volunteers, 12 males and 11 females,aged between 39 and 70 years (mean SEM 51.3±1.8 y) and BMI 24.26±0.49kg/m².

Diets

The study consisted of a balanced, two-period crossover trial precededby a baseline (reference) period. Subjects were randomly allocated toeither the Wheat bran cereal or the test cereal (PTI fibre) supplementgroup for 14 days and then assigned to the alternative dietarysupplement for the same period of time.

The two dietary supplements were extruded breakfast cereals preparedfrom digestible starch and either Wheat bran or an orange and applefibre extract (PTI fibre) as the test fibre. Volunteers were providedwith 34 or 45 g daily portions of PTI or Wheat bran cereal,respectively, equivalent to approximately 15 g of dietary fibre. Theywere asked to consume daily the respective supplements for each of the2-week intervention periods. Fibre intake was restricted to about 20g/day during the Baseline (pre-supplementation) period by providingsubjects with a low fibre cereal and advising them to avoid designatedhigh fibre foods which they also refrained from eating throughout thestudy.

Experimental Procedure and Measurements Stools were collected over a48-hour period prior to (Baseline) and 2 weeks after commencing eachintervention. Faecal specimens were weighed, mixed thoroughly before asubsample of approximately 1 g was taken for estimation of watercontent. A further subsample of faeces was diluted with a known volumeof internal standard, for SCFA determination, and the pH of the slurrydetermined by insertion of an appropriate electrode. Total and majorindividual short-chain fatty acid concentrations were measured by gaschromatography.

Data Analysis

Faecal data were analysed as a randomised complete block design bytwo-way analysis of variance using the General Linear Model procedure ofStatistical Analytical Systems. Gender was used as the block.Differences between baseline and dietary treatments were determinedusing the protected difference procedure of SAS. Results are presentedas least squares means and their pooled standard error (SEM).

Results

Large Bowel pH

Acidic conditions were found in faecal samples before and afterreceiving fibre extracts (Tables 12, 13). Differences in pH for theextract treatments and the Wheat bran treatment were not significant

Large Bowel Shorn Chain Fatty Acid Concentrations

Generally, concentrations of total SCFA tended to higher in subjects fedfibre extracts relative to Wheat bran (Tables 14-17). Profiles for eachof the individual SCFA were similar (Tables 14-17).

Formulations Containing Fibre Extracts

Breakfast Cereal

An example of a food product to which the apple and orange fibre mix, inthe proportions set out above might be added is set out below.

A breakfast cereal formulation is as follows:

Normal With fibre mixture Maize flour 91% 77% Fibre mixture — 14% Malt 3%  3% Sugar  5%  5% Salt  1%  1%

The process of making the corn flake product with fibre mixture is thesame as making the cornflake mixture with the normal mix and is inaccordance with methods known to the person skilled in the art.

An example of a breakfast cereal to which the carrot and grape fibre mixmight be added is as follows:

Carrot fibre 16% Grape fibre 16% Wheat or cornflour 21% Wheat bran 19%Malt 10% Sugar 17.2%   Salt 0.8% 

An example of a breakfast cereal to which the cranberry and grapefruitfibre mix might be added is as follows:

Cranberry fibre 19% Grapefruit fibre 13% Wheat or cornflour 21% Wheatbran 19% Malt 10% Sugar 17.2%   Salt 0.8% 

An example of a granola to which the apple and orange fibre mix might beadded is as follows:

Rolled oats 30% Apple fibre 16% Orange fibre 15% Crisped Rice 11%Almonds  8% Coconut  8% Gum Arabic  5% Gum Ghatti  4% Guar Gum  3%

An example of a fruit juice to which the apple and orange fibre mixmight be added is a commercial orange juice (98% juice) to which 3% byweight of the fibre mix is added.

An example of a soup to which the carrot and grape fibre mix might beadded is a commercial vegetable soupo mix containing vegetables, meatstock and starch to which is added 8% by weight of the fibre mix.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown anddescribed in connection with the exemplified embodiment of theinvention, however, it must be understood that these particulararrangements merely illustrate and that the invention is not limitedthereto and can include various modifications falling within the spiritand scope of the invention.

TABLE 1 Relative compositions of selected fruits and vegetables Fruit 1Fruit 2 Cran- Grape- Component Apple Grape berry Orange fruit CarrotCalcium 1434 500-1000 319 10071 10000 4309 (ppm) Potassium 3518 70001750 1821 1800 7794 (ppm) Soluble NNSP 1.43 1.30 1.5 2.23 2.25 2.19 (%dry wt.) Total NNSP 29.91 29-30 30.0 29.98 30.0 29.17 (% dry wt.)Soluble uronics 10.0 5.0 5.0 14.0 14.0 6.7 (% dry wt.) Total uronics16.8 9.0 10.0 31.9 32.0 21.1 (% dry wt.) Lignin 24.0 24.0 24.0 25.0 25.018.6 (% dry wt.)

TABLE 2 Composition of experimental diets (g/kg) Ingredient ControlApple Orange Apple + Orange Casein 160 143 144 143 Starch 497 497 497497 Sugar 100 53 58 55 Palm oil 130 188 188 188 Safflower oil 20 20 2020 Wheat bran 75 — — — Apple extract — 106 — 53 Orange extract — 13.3 9648 Dicalcium phosphate 13.3 13.3 13.3 13.3 Minerals (other) 3.2 3.2 3.23.2 Vitamins 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5

TABLE 3 Initial and final live weight, and live weight gain of pigs LiveWeight Final Dietary group Initial kg Live Weight Gain Wheat bran 31.648.1 16.5 Apple 31.8 46.1 14.2 Orange 33.2 47.8 14.6 Apple + Orange 33.548.7 15.2 SEM 1.3 1.8 1.0 Values are means for 7, 8, 6 and 5observations for treatments Wheat bran, Apple, Orange and Apple +Orange, respectively. Treatment differences are not statisticallysignificant (P < 0.05).

TABLE 4 Morphology of the small and large bowel Small Intestine CaecumColon Length Weight Length Weight Length Dietary group m g cm g m Wheatbran 15.29 95.9 16.7 568 2.97 Apple 15.15 101.5 15.6 550 2.84 Orange14.65 89.7 14.8 547 2.81 Apple + Orange 15.32 109.8 15.2 613 2.77 SEM0.51 9.4 1.0 34 0.12 Values are means, with number of observations asper Table 5.

TABLE 5 Wet weight of digesta in the large bowel Proximal Mid colonDistal Total Dietary Group Caecal colon g colon colon Wheat bran 152 349216^(a) 154 871 Apple 135 252 117^(c) 107 611 Orange 169 274 118^(b) 81642 Apple + Orange 143 243 129^(b) 112 627 SEM 37 39 27 22 90 Values aremeans, with number of observations as per Table 2. Means in the samecolumn with different superscript letters differ (P < 0.05). ^(a-b)P <0.05, ^(a-c)P < 0.01.

TABLE 6 Water content of digesta in the large bowel Mid colon DietaryGroup Caecal Proximal colon % Distal colon Wheat bran 88 84.4 79.8^(a)73.2^(a) Apple 90.4 83.6 74.5^(b) 63.2^(c) Orange 88.4 82.1 76.563.9^(c) Apple + Orange 91.0 84.0 76.0 62.8^(c) SEM 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.0Values are means, with number of observations as per Table 5. Means inthe same column with different superscript letters differ ^(a-b)P <0.05; ^(a-c)P < 0.01.

TABLE 7 pH of digesta in the large bowel Dietary Group Caecal Proximalcolon Mid colon Distal colon Wheat bran 7.13^(a) 7.10^(a) 7.21^(a)7.09^(a) Apple 5.84^(d) 6.18^(d) 6.24^(d) 6.29^(d) Orange 5.84^(d)6.09^(d) 6.14^(d) 6.28^(d) Apple + Orange 5.85^(d) 6.06^(d) 6.06^(d)6.05^(d) SEM 0.16 0.11 0.13 0.13 Values are means, with number ofobservations as per Table 2. Means in the same column with differentsuperscript letters differ ^(a-b)P < 0.05; ^(a-c)P < 0.01, ^(a-d)P <0.01.

TABLE 8 Concentration of total SCFA in the large bowel Caecal Proximalcolon Mid colon Distal colon Dietary Group mmol/L Wheat bran 62.860.5^(a) 53.1 55.4 Apple 68.3 71.1^(a) 55.4 43.7 Orange 75.5 79.9^(ac)67.6 42.5 Apple + Orange 88.2 93.3^(c) 76.3 61.7 SEM 15.7 7.3 8.3 6.7Values are means, with number of observations as per Table 2. Means inthe same column with different superscript letters differ: ^(a-c)P <0.01. For the Proximal colon, Wheat bran vs Orange, P = 0.07; for Midcolon and Distal colon, ANOVA F value not significant. For Mid colon,Wheat bran vs Apple + Orange, P = 0.073; Apple vs Apple + Orange, P =0.095. For Distal colon, Apple + Orange vs Apple, P = 0.074, Apple +Orange vs Orange, P = 0.074.

TABLE 9 Concentration of total acetate in the large bowel CaecalProximal colon Mid colon Distal colon Dietary Group mmol/L Wheat bran40.8 38.6^(a) 33.7 35.2 Apple 43.0 42.4^(bc) 33.3 27.0 Orange 48.6 48.539.6 26.6 Apple + Orange 59.2 60.1^(c) 46.2 36.7 SEM 10.2 4.8 5.3 4.2Values are means, with number of observations as per Table 2. Means inthe same column with different superscript letters differ: ^(a-b)P <0.05; ^(a-c)P < 0.01.

TABLE 10 Concentration of propionate in the large bowel Caecal Proximalcolon Mid colon Distal colon Dietary Group mmol/L Wheat bran 17.3 15.712.0 12.6 Apple 19.5 19.6 12.9 8.38 Orange 21.2 22.6 18.1 8.73 Apple +Orange 21.2 22.7 19.1 11.9 SEM 4.4 2.3 2.7 1.7 Values are means, withnumber of observations as per Table 2. ANOVA F value not significant.For Mid colon, Wheat bran vs Apple + Orange, P = 0.085. For Distalcolon, Wheat bran vs Apple, P = 0.076.

TABLE 11 Concentration of butyrate in the large bowel Caecal Proximalcolon Mid colon Distal colon Dietary Group mmol/L Wheat bran 4.74 6.067.43 7.67^(a) Apple 5.83 9.15 9.20 8.28^(a) Orange 5.73 8.80 9.907.13^(a) Apple + Orange 7.80 10.4 11.0 13.0^(b) SEM 1.62 1.1 1.4 1.4Values are means, with number of observations as per Table 2. Means inthe same column with different superscript letters differ: ANOVA F valuenot significant for Caecum, Proximal and Mid colon. For Proximal colon,Wheat bran vs Apple, P = 0.052.

TABLE 12 Faecal pH, moisture content, and wet and dry weight involunteers before and after dietary supplementation1 Dietary TreatmentFruit-fibre Wheat bran Pooled Period & Measurement2 Baseline productcereal sem3 pH 6.91 6.76 6.81 0.10 Wet weight (g) 260a 337b 347b 25Moisture content (%) 26.7 25.1 25.7 1.3 Dry weight (g) 64.9a 79.5b 85.4b5.2 1Data were analysed as completely randomised design using analysisof variance. Means separation was by protected difference option of SAS.Values are least squares means for 23 observations. 2Faecal samples werecollected over two consecutive days immediately prior to (Baseline) andafter 4 weeks of dietary treatment. 3Pooled standard error of leastsquares means (SEM). a-bP < 0.05. For faecal dry weight, Baseline vsWheat bran, P = 0.007.

TABLE 13 Faecal pH, moisture content, and wet and dry weight in male andfemale volunteers before and after dietary supplementation1 DietaryTreatment Fruit fibre Wheat bran Pooled Period & Measurement2 Baselineproduct cereal sem3 pH Male 6.96 6.74 6.70 0.14 Female 6.85 6.79 6.920.15 Wet weight (g) Male 296a 416b 408b 36 Female 225 258 286 35Moisture content (%) Male 23.5 23.5 24.6 1.8 Female 29.9 26.6 26.7 1.9Dry weight (g) Male 68a 95b 100b 7 Female 61 64 71 7 1Data were analysedas completely randomised design using two-way analysis of variance.Means separation was by protected difference option of SAS. Values areleast squares means for 12 female and 13 male volunteers. 2Faecalsamples were collected over two consecutive days immediately prior to(Baseline) and after 4 weeks of dietary treatment. 3Pooled standarderror of least squares means (SEM).

TABLE 14 Faecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations and molarratios weight in volunteers before (Baseline) and after dietarysupplementation1 Dietary Treatment Fruit-fibre Wheat bran Pooled Period& Measurement2 Baseline product cereal sem3 Faecal SCFA concentration(mM) Acetate 47.4 58.5 51.1 4.9 Propionate 13.5 15.7 13.5 1.3 Butyrate16.7 19.9 17.9 2.3 Total SCFA 77.6 94.1 82.4 8.2 SCFA molar ratio61:18:22 63:17:20 63:17:20 — (A:P:B)4 1Data were analysed as completelyrandomised design using analysis of variance. Means separation was byprotected difference option of SAS. Values are least squares means for23 observations. 2Faecal samples were collected over two consecutivedays immediately prior to (Baseline) and after 4 weeks of dietarytreatment. 3Pooled standard error of least squares means (SEM).

TABLE 15 Faecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations and molarratios weight in male and female volunteers before (Baseline) and afterdietary supplementation1 Dietary Treatment Fruit fibre Wheat bran PooledPeriod & Measurement2 Baseline product cereal sem3 Faecal SCFAconcentration (mM) Acetate Male 42.2a 61.6b 53.8 6.8 Female 52.7 55.548.5 7.1 Propionate Male 12.7 17.0 13.9 1.9 Female 14.7 14.3 13.0 1.9Butyrate Male 16.2 17.3 16.6 3.3 Female 17.2 22.5 19.1 3.2 Total SCFAMale 72.0 101.1 86.8 11.3 Female 83.3 87.1 78.0 11.8 SCFA molar ratio(A:P:B)4 Male 58:19:24 61:17:22 62:17:21 — Female 64:17:19 65:17:1864:17:20 — 1Data were analysed as completely randomised design usingtwo-way analysis of variance. Means separation was by protecteddifference option of SAS. Values are least squares means for 12 femaleand 13 male volunteers. 2Faecal samples were collected over twoconsecutive days immediately prior to (Baseline) and after 4 weeks ofdietary treatment. 3Pooled standard error of least squares means (SEM).For propionate concentration: Baseline vs PTI product, P = 0.103 formale volunteers. For total SCFA concentration: Baseline vs PTI product,P = 0.073 for male volunteers.

TABLE 16 Faecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) excretion in volunteersbefore (Baseline) and after dietary treatments1 Dietary Treatment Fruitfibre Wheat bran Pooled Period & Measurement2 Baseline product cerealsem3 Faecal SCFA excretion (mmol) Acetate 9.91a 16.44b 14.10 2.10Propionate 2.85 4.36 3.72 0.56 Butyrate 3.63 5.89 5.13 0.97 Total SCFA16.38a 26.69b 22.95 3.54 1Data were analysed as completely randomiseddesign using analysis of variance. Means separation was by protecteddifference option of SAS. Values are least squares means for 23. 2Faecalsamples were collected over two consecutive days immediately prior to(Baseline) and after 4 weeks of dietary treatment. 3Pooled standarderror of least squares means (SEM). a-bP < 0.05. For propionate andbutyrate excretion: Baseline vs PTI product, P = 0.060 and 0.105,respectively.

TABLE 17 Faecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) excretion in male andfemale volunteers before (Baseline) and after dietary treatments1Dietary Treatment Fruit fibre Wheat bran Pooled Period & Measurement2Baseline product cereal sem3 Faecal SCFA excretion (mmol) Acetate Male10.11a 21.02b 16.82 2.91 Female 9.70 11.86 11.38 3.04 Propionate Male3.02a 5.62b 4.38 0.77 Female 2.68 3.10 3.06 0.81 Butyrate Male 4.36 8.156.24 1.35 Female 2.90 3.64 4.02 1.41 Total SCFA Male 17.48a 34.79b 27.454.89 Female 15.29 18.59 18.46 5.11 1Data were analysed as completelyrandomised design using two-way analysis of variance. Means separationwas by protected difference option of SAS. Values are least squaresmeans for 23. 2Faecal samples were collected over two consecutive daysimmediately prior to (Baseline) and after 4 weeks of dietary treatment.3Pooled standard error of least squares means (SEM). a-bP < 0.05. Forbutyrate excretion: Baseline vs PTI product, P = 0.051 for malevolunteers.

What is claimed is:
 1. A food additive, said food additive comprisingfibre preparations from two or more types of fruit or vegetables, thefibre preparations having undergone an extraction to remove greater than90% of water soluble solids therefrom the fibre preparations consistingof the unsolubilized residue of the extraction, wherein a first of thetwo or more fruits or vegetables has a calcium content of between 4000and 15000 ppm and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has acalcium content of between 200 and 1500 ppm.
 2. A food additive, saidfood additive comprising fibre preparations from two or more types offruit or vegetables, the fibre preparations having undergone anextraction to remove greater than 90% of water soluble solids therefromthe fibre preparations consisting of the unsolubilized residue of theextraction, wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables hasa soluble neutral non starch polysaccharide content of between 2 and 3percent dry weight and a second of the two or more fruit or vegetableshas a soluble neutral non starch polysaccharides content of between 1and 2 percent dry weight.
 3. A food additive, said food additivecomprising fibre preparations from two or more types of fruit orvegetables, the fibre preparations having undergone an extraction toremove greater than 90% of water soluble solids therefrom the fibrepreparations consisting of the unsolubilized residue of the extraction,wherein a first of the two or more fruits or vegetables has a totaluronic acids content of between 20 and 40 percent dry weight and asecond of the two or more fruit or vegetables has a total uronic acidscontent of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.
 4. A food additive, saidfood additive comprising fibre preparations from two or more types offruit or vegetables, the fibre preparations having undergone anextraction to remove greater than 90% of water soluble solids therefromthe fibre preparations consisting of the unsolubilized residue of theextraction, wherein the first of the two or more fruits or vegetableshas: a calcium content of between 4000 and 15000 ppm; a soluble neutralnon starch polysaccharides content of between 2 and 3 percent dryweight; and a total uronic acids content of between 20 and 40 percentdry weight and the second of the two or more fruit or vegetables has: acalcium content of between 200 and 1500 ppm; a soluble neutral nonstarch polysaccharides content of between 1 and 2 percent dry weight;and a total uronic acids content of between 5 and 20 percent dry weight.5. A food additive according to claim 4 wherein the first of the two ormore fruit and vegetables is an orange, and the second of the two ormore fruit or vegetables is selected from the group consisting of apple,grape and cranberry.
 6. A food additive according to claim 5 wherein thefirst of the two or more fruit and vegetables is an orange and thesecond of the two or more fruit or vegetables is an apple.
 7. A foodadditive according to claim 4 wherein the first of the two or more fruitand vegetables is a grapefruit, and the second of the two or more fruitor vegetables is selected from the group consisting of apple, grape andcranberry.
 8. A food additive comprising a mixture of a first fiberpreparation from a first fruit or vegetable, and a second fiberpreparation from a second fruit or vegetable, the first fiberpreparation and the second fiber preparation are prepared by slicing thetwo or more fruits or vegetables into substantially uniform pieces,extracting soluble solid by contacting the pieces with an extractionliquid under conditions to remove a majority of water soluble solids,and substantially removing any remaining seed tissue from the fibre thefirst fruit or vegetable being one or more selected from the groupconsisting of citrus tomato, carrot, mango, papya, banana, pineapple,kiwi fruit, spinach, and the second fruit or vegetable being one or moreselected from the group consisting of melon, grape, apple and cranberry.9. The food additive of claim 8 wherein the enzymes within the fruit orvegetable are inactivated before extraction.
 10. The food additive ofclaim 9 wherein the inactivation is by heat.
 11. The food additive ofclaim 8 wherein the sliced fruit is flash heated at about 60° C.
 12. Thefood additive of claim 8 wherein the sliced fruit of vegetable isundigested prior to extraction, having not been physically comminuted ortreated enzymically or chemically to alter insoluble solids within thefruit or vegetable.
 13. The food additive of claim 12 wherein the slicedfruit has not been macerated or milled.
 14. The food additive of claim12 wherein the sliced fruit has not been treated by alkali or acid. 15.The food additive of claim 12 wherein the slicing disrupts only about0.5% of the cell walls.
 16. The food additive of claim 8 wherein thepieces of fruit is sliced so that the soluble solids have a diffusionpath to the extraction liquid of not longer than about 1.5 mm.
 17. Thefood additive of claim 8 wherein the extraction liquid is water.
 18. Thefood additive of claim 17 wherein the extraction is by a countercurrentmethod, wherein the sliced fruit or vegetable material is carried in onedirection whereas the extraction liquid is carried in the oppositedirection.
 19. The food additive of claim 18 wherein greater than 90% ofthe water soluble solids are removed.
 20. The food additive of claim 18wherein between about 93% to about 99% of the soluble solids areremoved.
 21. The food additive of claim 8 wherein the the first fruit orvegetable being one or more selected from the group consisting of citrusand carrot, and the second fruit or vegetable being one or more selectedfrom the group consisting of grape, apple and cranberry.